With the vast majority of international justice attention focused on the unfolding situation in Libya, the search for justice in post-conflict Ivory Coast has been chugging along without much international scrutiny. In sharp contrast to the rigid either-or-debate regarding where Muammar Gaddafi and the Tripoli Three should be tried, the transitional government in Ivory Coast appears to have decided that justice will be served both locally and internationally.

The ICC’s interest in Ivory Coast is nothing new. The Court has been pondering its course since the country declared, in 2003, that it accepted the ICC’s jurisdiction. When widespread post-election violence erupted across across the country late last year, the Court began to apply pressure on Ivory Coast officials, declaring that the Office of the Prosecution would not hesitate to issue arrest warrants for key Ivorian leaders responsible for large-scale violence amounting to war crimes or crimes against humanity. However, as pressure mounted to get involved in Libya and other Arab Spring states, Ivory Coast was largely relegated to the backburners of international scrutiny and interest.

On deeper inspection, Ivorian authorities have been quite busy in their pursuit of accountability and reconciliation. Inspired by the South African experience, a truth commission, the Truth, Reconciliation and Dialogue Commission, (which includes football star Didier Drogba!) has been set up to examine the four months of turmoil that swept and ravaged Ivory Coast. Along with the Commission, there has been significant pressure to bring former President, Laurent Gbagbo, and others to account for their role in the post-election violence. For four months, Gbagbo refused to concede electoral defeat, instead holing up in his Presidential palace in Abidjan, as his and Ouattara’s supporters engaged in brutal street wars. Thousands perished in what has been described as Ivory Coast’s “second civil war”. Gbagbo was finally, and forcefully, removed from power with the help of a French and UN military mission.

The ICC’s investigation will undoubtedly focus around the role of Gbagbo. For the Court, putting its first head of state in the dock would be a first, and a tremendous political and politically symbolic victory. It also appears to be a priority for Bensouda, who is most likely to become the Court’s top prosecutor when Luis Moreno-Ocampo’s term concludes next year.

The ICC's Deputy Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, was recently in Ivory Coast to sign an agreement allowing the Court to open a formal investigation into post-election violence.

“He will be judged in Ivory Coast for economic crimes and he will also be judged by the ICC at our request so that the trial is fair…The law will be the same for everybody. Impunity will not be tolerated and those who should face the judge will do so. We will not make any exemptions.”

Two children peer through barbed wire at a UN protectorate in Bouake (Photo: Dismal World)

Within this broader debate about justice’s place, Ouattara’s comment demonstrates that some countries may see a division of labour approach where some crimes (economic crimes and more minor crimes) will be tried and judged in the country and the commission of international crimes, which retains the risk of becoming heavily politicized, can be adjudicated at the ICC.

The development of such a practice would have profound effects on how justice is achieved. On first glance, however, these would appear to be largely positive. A state, such as Ivory Coast, could achieve justice for violations caused domestically and subsequently demonstrate to the world its intentions to respect the rule of law and human rights by outsourcing accountability of the worst crimes to a much more depoliticized Court. Just as importantly, “menial” crimes, which often affect victims on a similar scale to large-scale human rights violations, would be adjudicated as well as large-scale international crimes. Unlike the debate it Libya, serving justice domestically and internationally would be shown not to be an either-or situation.

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About Mark Kersten

Mark is a researcher, consultant and teacher based at the Munk School of Global Affairs in Toronto, Canada. His research focuses on the nexus of international criminal justice and conflict resolution. Specifically, Mark's work examines the politics of the International Criminal Court and the effects of its interventions on peace, justice and conflict processes.